OK, I must be the only person that knows anything about Jacob Armen. Hello? Anyone else out there?

areFish

08-25-2012 06:19 PM

Re: Jacob Armen

I don't know much about him. I've probably watched every YT vid from the kid years to more recent stuff. Phenomenal drummer.

DrumEatDrum

08-26-2012 01:02 AM

Re: Jacob Armen

I saw Jacob live when he was like 9 or 10. He was pretty beyond amazing.

But as to why he's not on DrummerWorld, well, what has he really done since?
He is an amazing talent, but he's never really made the transition into a name as an adult. Even his bio on his website only touts what he did as a kid, and says "Now, Jacob Armen is coming back strong" which implies he's really not done much in the music industry in some time.

Tony Royster Jr had the same level of hype as kid as Jacob did, but Tony transitioned to working touring drummer behind huge names. Thomas Pridgen made a name as a kid, but he then made a career as an adult with Mars Volta and others.

And there have been several other wunder kids who were on TV or whatever for their amazing talents as kid drummers, some before Jacob, some after, some are doing it now.

Which isn't to belittle Jacob. I'm sure he can still play rings around most people, and there is no law that says he has to have a music career, and lord knows having a music career is tough.

But generally, to be recognized for your drumming, you have to play in a manner that people will see or hear you play. Just being listed because he was a kid phenomenon isn't really quite enough to stand out anymore.

I wish I could remember his name, but there was a kid before Jacob who got a write up in Modern Drummer and other accolades. He played one the same night as I saw Jacob, but at the point he was 16, and his reputation as a "kid wonder" was wearing off due to no longer being so young. Still that night he played so well that he drew a lot of comparisons to Vinnie Coluita. But after that night, I never heard of him again.